Skandapurana 16.39

Īśvara said: / 'Then, having properly worshipped the god of gods, Kapardin, / one should go, O great goddess, to the liṅga situated at Kedāra.

Situated in its south-eastern direction, near Bhīmeśvara, / is the self-manifest Kalpaliṅga, dear to me, O great goddess.

Worshipped by me, O goddess, is the Vṛddhiliṅga of great splendour; / whoever, fasting there, keeps a single vigil,

especially on the fourteenth day, his worlds are eternal. / In an earlier cosmic age, the name of the god was Rudreśvara.'

When this Kali age arrived, however, frightened by the touch of barbarians, / Kedāra dissolved into this liṅga near the ocean.

Therefore, its name 'Kedāra' became famed on the surface of the earth. / In the month of Māgha, moderating one's food and bathing in the salt ocean,

in the great Padmaka pool in the midst of this salt water, / situated ten bow-lengths to the south of Rudreśa,

having bathed according to rule, O goddess, one will worship Rudreśa, / and he will obtain the full fruit of a pilgrimage to Kedāra.

From worshipping [it], there is the great destruction of sins such as the killing of a brahmin. / Now, an ancient legend of that very deity,

which grants all desires to mortals, is told to you, O beloved of the gods. / Formerly, O goddess, there was a king renowned as Śaśabindu,

a universal monarch, a protector of the earth, a destroyer of enemy hosts. / That lord of the earth existed at the junction of the Kali and Dvāpara ages.

He had a virtuous wife, dearer to him than his own breaths; / no goddess, nor Gandharva woman, nor Asura woman, nor serpent woman

was of such beauty, O fair-hipped lady, as was his auspicious-eyed [wife]. / That noble king possessed a lovely, golden hundred-petaled lotus,

which moved through the sky, swift and everlasting. / By means of it, O goddess, he wandered through all the worlds at will.

Once, in the bright fortnight of the month of Phālguna, O fair-faced lady, / on the fourteenth lunar day, he reached the supreme Prabhāsa-kṣetra.

Then he saw all the seers standing before glorious Someśa, / devoted to japa and oblation, for the sake of keeping vigil at night.

Beholding Somanātha, he bowed down according to rule, / and, filled with devotion, worshipped all of them as was appropriate.

Then, having approached Kedāra and properly bathed the Lord, O beloved, / having worshipped Īśvara with variegated garlands of flowers,

with diverse food-offerings, garments, and enchanting ornaments, / he then kept vigil there with a concentrated mind.

Then all those sages, filled with curiosity— / Cyavana, Yājñavalkya, Śāṇḍilya, Śākaṭāyana,

Raibhya, then Jaimini, Krauñca, Nārada, Parvata, and Śila— / placing Mārkaṇḍa at their head, went into his presence.

Relating many highly variegated stories and ancient legends, / standing there, they questioned the best of kings:

The seers said: / "Why, O ruler of men, abandoning the god Someśvara, / did you keep vigil before Kedāra? Tell us that. / Surely you know the great and lofty fruit of this liṅga."

The king said: / "Let all the brahmins hear of what arose in my previous body. / In a former birth, I was of the Śūdra caste, a worshipper of brahmins,

in the fair region of Saurāṣṭra, crowded with wealth and grain. / Then in the course of time, O twice-born ones, a drought occurred there.

Then, overcome by hunger, I went to Prabhāsa-kṣetra. / There I saw a bright lake situated at the foot of Hariṇī,

named Rāmasaras, adorned with clumps of lotuses, / resembling the ocean of milk. Seeing it, I, being exhausted, bathed.

Having offered libations to the ancestors and gods, and drunk the clear water, / I was then addressed by my wife: 'Take these lotuses.

Near this, a charming, excellent place is seen; / going there, let us sell them, so that there may be food, O master.'

Then, having descended into the water, O twice-born ones, I gathered / very many lotuses and set out toward the city.

Having gone there, along the streets, in the squares, and at the crossroads, / to sell those blooming lotuses, O best of sages,

no one bought them, and the sun went to its setting. / Having reached a temple, I slept alongside my wife.

As I slept there, hearing the sound of singing at that time, / an idea arose in me, accompanied by my wife, especially afflicted by hunger: / 'Surely this is a vigil in some house of the gods.

Taking the lotuses, I shall go to that temple. / If someone takes them, then there will be subsistence for my life.'

Then, rising up, I came here, O bulls among sages; / and I saw this liṅga worshipped with auspicious flowers,

this self-manifest ancient liṅga named Rudreśvara. / A courtesan named Anaṅgavatī, devoted to Śivarātri,

was keeping vigil before it with song, dance, celebrations, and the like. / Then someone was seen by me, [and I asked]: 'What is this night vigil?

Who is this woman seen, intensely devoted to the festivities of singing and dancing?' / He said: 'This is the night of Śiva, declared by Śiva's teachings, granting great righteousness.

And on it, this virtuous courtesan named Anaṅgavatī / keeps vigil; the auspicious observance of Śivarātri brings supreme welfare.

For that person who duly performs this Śivarātri observance / does not incur sorrow, poverty, or bondage;

nor an evil conjunction of misfortune, nor disease, nor fear anywhere. / Endowed with happiness and fortune, that man is born into a good family,

splendid, renowned, and a vessel of all auspiciousness / he becomes by his grace: so say the wise.'

The king said: / "Then an unwavering intention toward that vow arose in me; / and this was reflected in my mind, O best of brahmins:

'Since through lack of food a fast has been imposed upon me by force, / therefore, having bathed in the salt water at the Padmaka tīrtha,

I shall worship the god Maheśvara with these lotuses.' / Then, accompanied by my wife, Rudreśa was worshipped by me

with lotuses, filled with devotion, especially together with my wife; / and keeping awake, I remained before the deity for that night alongside my wife.

Then, at dawn, when the orb of the sun had risen, / that courtesan said this to me: '[Take] three palas of silver...'

"Take the price of the lotuses!" But it was not accepted by me, / adopting a pure disposition, together with my wife, O best of brahmins. 48

Then, having gathered alms, my sustenance was maintained by me. / After a great length of time, O lords of sages, I met the law of time [death]. 49

This virtuous wife of mine, dearer to me even than life, / took my body and entered the sacrificial fire. 50

By the power of that, I was born as a sovereign king of the earth, / remembering my previous births, together with my wife; this is the truth, O best of brahmins. 51

For this reason, devotion towards this liṅga / is ever maintained by me and my wife; I tell you this truth. 52

By me, though devoid of ritual action and destitute of devotion, O best of men, / this observance was performed; this is its exceedingly great fruit. 53

Now, of me endowed with devotion according to my means, / I do not know what the fruit will be in the future, O lords of sages, / by which, leaving Someśa aside, I am devoted here with full intent. 54

Īśvara said: / Having heard this, those brahmins, their eyes wide with wonder, / proclaiming, "Excellent, excellent!", praised the king. 55

They worshipped the self-manifest liṅga there day and night. / Then that best of kings, through the grace of this liṅga, / attained supreme perfection, difficult even for the gods to attain. 56

And that noble courtesan, by the power of Śivarātri / [and] by the māhātmya of that liṅga, became the apsaras named Rambhā. 57

Therefore, a wise man should worship that liṅga with all effort / if he desires duty, pleasure, wealth, and liberation—that bestower of everything. 58

Thus ends the thirty-ninth chapter, entitled "Description of the Māhātmya of the Kedāreśvara (Rudreśvara) Liṅga," in the first Prabhāsa-kṣetra-māhātmya of the seventh Prabhāsakhaṇḍa, in the Skandapurāṇa comprising eighty-one thousand verses. 39